Free QCE Year 11 Geography Flashcard Review

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What is the difference between a natural hazard and a disaster?

A hazard is a natural process or event that could cause harm; a disaster is the serious disruption when it strikes an exposed, vulnerable community beyond its capacity to cope.

Name the three groups of processes that generate natural hazards, with an example of each.

Geological (within the earth, e.g. earthquake), geomorphic (earth's surface, e.g. landslide or river flood) and atmospheric (e.g. tropical cyclone, heatwave).

Give an example of a hazard that combines processes.

Cyclone rain (atmospheric) saturates slopes and triggers landslides (geomorphic); an undersea earthquake (geological) generates a tsunami.

Why do tropical cyclones rarely form within about 5° of the equator?

The Coriolis effect is too weak there to start the rotation the storm needs.

How do you calculate average gradient from a topographic map?

Vertical interval ÷ horizontal ground distance (same units). Express as 1:n where n = distance ÷ vertical interval, or as a percentage.

What does a 1% AEP flood mean?

A flood with a one-in-100 chance of being equalled or exceeded in any year; it can still occur in back-to-back years.

Why does speed of onset influence severity?

Rapid-onset hazards leave little time for warnings, evacuation and protecting property, so more people are caught in the zone.

Distinguish regular and random timing of hazards.

Regular hazards are seasonal and predictable in timing (e.g. wet-season cyclones); random hazards have no predictable timing (e.g. earthquakes).

Give two ways climate change may increase natural hazard risk.

Extreme rainfall intensifies (about 7% per 1 °C of global warming); sea-level rise lifts the base for storm surge. Heatwaves also become more frequent and more intense.

Define exposure.

The people, property and environments located in a hazard zone.

Define vulnerability and give two factors that raise it.

Reduced ability to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover; e.g. poor housing quality and limited access to warnings.

Distinguish mitigation, preparedness and adaptation.

Mitigation reduces impacts before an event (e.g. building codes); preparedness readies people to act (e.g. warnings, drills); adaptation adjusts to changed conditions (e.g. raising floor levels as seas rise).

What are the two groups of ecological hazards?

Eco-hazards affecting the physical environment (invasions, pollutants) and disease hazards affecting human health (e.g. vector-borne disease).

Name the four spheres a pollutant can affect.

Lithosphere (soil and rock), atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water) and biosphere (living things).

Distinguish biological and anthropogenic processes in ecological hazards.

Biological: reproduction, dispersal, predation, pathogen life cycles. Anthropogenic: human actions such as trade, land clearing and releasing chemicals or nutrients.

What is a vector?

An organism, such as a mosquito, tick or flea, that carries a pathogen between hosts.

Give the sequence of impacts used to describe ecological hazards.

Primary (direct), secondary (following from primary) and tertiary (long-term or indirect).

Why does uncollected rubbish raise dengue risk?

Containers hold rainwater where Aedes aegypti mosquitoes breed close to people.

List four of the case-study factors (a) to (i) for analysing ecological risk.

Any four of: population density and settlement; vegetation cover and catchment condition; medical access and waste management; land use; economic development; climate; preparedness; emergency response; aid programs.

How do you calculate a rate per 100 000 people?

Cases ÷ population × 100 000.